WELLINGTON - It may be a case of too many rabbits on the track for Hutt Park Raceway.
A Wellington Greyhound Racing Club spokeswoman says a rabbit population explosion over the past 18 months has caused nearly $10,000 damage to the track's electrical cabling.
It has even led to the cancellation of one greyhound meeting after two races when rain caused a rabbit-chewed cable to short-circuit and the machinery to explode.
The situation is compounded by stray dogs digging up the racecourse in efforts to find the rabbits.
Hutt City Council pest destruction expert Pete Clarkson confirmed rabbits had been getting into the electrical gear that runs the greyhound track.
To control the problem the council had started scattering poisoned carrots. However, these could only be placed under buildings because the racecourse was also used for horse training.
Although there had been some success using poison, it was likely the rabbit calici virus would be released in November.
Wellington Greyhound Racing Club was considering moving to Upper Hutt's Maidstone Park, and sharing facilities with Upper Hutt Rugby Club.
- NZPA
Racing: Bunnies run amok on racetrack
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